KeNHA reopens Globe Roundabout after 13-day closure

Commuters walk on the globe roundabout bridge. [David Gichuru, Standard]

Traffic has resumed at Globe Roundabout along Thika Superhighway after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) lifted a 13-day closure that had snarled movement across one of Nairobi's busiest corridors.

KeNHA announced the restoration on Wednesday, saying motorists could  resume normal travel along the section connecting Nairobi's central business district (CBD), Kipande Road and Thika Superhighway.

The authority had originally told the public the closure would run from March 12 to March 19.

The roundabout was shut to allow reinstatement works at the Nairobi River Bridge, which had been damaged in early March.

Rising waters washed away the gabion protection on the upstream side of the bridge, leaving the structure compromised.

The floods, which struck Nairobi on the night of March 6 and 7, killed at least 23 people, swept away more than 71 vehicles on Thika Superhighway alone and crippled large sections of the city's road network.

Globe Roundabout is one of Nairobi's most critical traffic junctions, used by nearly all public service vehicles on Thika Road to access the CBD.

Its closure pushed thousands of daily commuters onto alternative routes, with diversions running through the Globe Overpass, Prof. Wangari Maathai Road, Ring Road and Limuru Road.